WoW players raise $1.1 million for Make-A-Wish
February 17th, 2010, 12:02 am · 11 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
When Blizzard Entertainment asked gamers inside the World of Warcraft to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation, players responded.
By the thousands.
On Tuesday, Blizzard president Mike Morhaime handed a $1.11 million check to the charity that grants wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
“We’re very happy with the amount,” said Mike Morhaime, president of the Irvine game developer.
Was he surprised?
“We stopped making predictions about WoW a long time ago.”
The proceeds came from the sale of a Pandaren Monk, a virtual pet for the game. The creature sold for $10 between Nov. 4 and Dec. 31. Half the price was donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. That means 222,000 players bought the pet.
“I was shocked. That’s a lot of virtual pets,” said Frank Pearce, the game’s executive director.
Morhaime believes players wanted to help out the charity and not just score another virtual pet.
“If you read a lot of the comments in the forums, they indicated that people were really excited about Make-a-Wish and having the proceeds benefit the foundation,” Morhaime said.
In fact, Blizzard released two other virtual pets at the same time that weren’t as big sellers.
“People were definitely drawn to the Pandaren,” Pearce said.
The company has granted eight or nine wishes, including that of Ezra Chatterton, whose tale I documented starting with his May 2007 visit to Blizzard’s headquarters. Chatterton had brain cancer and played WoW with his father as an escape. His story inspired hundreds of readers and WoW players to write in and wish him the best.
The $1.1 million donation is to fund wishes, Morhaime said. It’s also a donation to the Orange County and international chapters of Make-A-Wish. The money will also be doled out proportionally by country, based on where funds originated. U.S. players were the largest contributors.
“When I found out the amount, it was a massive surprise because it had never been done before. It (the virtual pet sale) only lasted about seven weeks. I think Blizzard was hoping for $100,000 to $200,000,” said Mark Pilon, president and CEO of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Watch the video by Register videographer Eugene Garcia:
The donation also makes it the first time one was split between the local and international operations.
“They looked at it as, ‘We’re getting money from all over the world so we need to share it all over the world,’ ” Pilon said. “I’m proud that it’s coming from Orange County.”
 Blizzard’s Sam ‘Samwise’ Didier sketches Jordan Cofinco’s character in WoW. |
During Tuesday’s event, about a dozen children in the local Make-a-Wish program were invited to Blizzard’s private campus for the short ceremony and a chance to play the upcoming StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 games. Art director Sam “Samwise” Didier sketched characters while chatting with the kids. Someone even dressed up as a night elf for photo opps.
But it was Jordan Cofinco, 17, who probably got the biggest thrill of the day: Blizzard granted his wish. Cofinco, who had a brain tumor the size of his fist, simply wanted what many players desire: To be “leveled up” to level 80, the highest in the game. He also asked for a lifetime subscription and visit to Blizzard’s campus, he said.
“It’s very cool,” said Cofinco, whose brain cancer has spread to his spine. Being on Blizzard’s campus made him feel “starstruck,” he said.
Cofinco, who lives in Corona, has been playing WoW for about five years. After cancer struck, mother Brenda Starr learned how to play because it brought her son so much joy, she said. She’s now at level 80 herself and helped her son get one of his characters to the same level. But he had others, including a night elf. Blizzard granted him one level 80.
“It’s hard for him to play these days. He has tremors in his hands. Double vision. His reaction is not as quick,” she said. “The only thing that cheered him up in the hospital was WoW.”
For more stories and photos of Blizzard Entertainment, visit the Blizzard archive at ocregister.com/blizzard. Recent stories:
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Hey don’t go giving WoW players all the credit…some of us need the pet for our 100-pet achievements! Haha. Epic, nonetheless. =P
Just remember this game is played by all ages so to see something good come out of it is huge. I purchased one myself before i knew of the donations. Blizzard is one of the few companies that truly give back to its players and the community. This is why World of Warcraft has such a huge following. More companies can learn from there structure to give back from time to time. Nariss-Ravencrest-For The Horde
I commend Blizzard for raising funds for such as worthy organization, and applaud the generosity of its players. Clearly WoW and other games have a powerful and far-reaching ability to fundraise. Blizzard, if you’re reading this, please consider doing the same for OC schools who are suffering greatly, and for the earthquake victims in Haiti. You have the ability to do great good. Keep it up!
I commend Blizzard for raising funds for such a worthy organization, and applaud the generosity of its players. Clearly WoW and other games have a powerful and far-reaching ability to fundraise. Blizzard, if you’re reading this, please consider doing the same for OC schools who are suffering greatly, and for the earthquake victims in Haiti. You have the ability to do great things. Keep it up!
Big thumbs up to WOW community and Blizzard. You all made a wonderful contribution here. I wish more organizations with so much influence would do more. Thank you!!!
Glad to see Blizz is helping, but im not sure why they didnt give 100% to the charity. Out of pocket cost for making the Monk was not 1.1 million. Sounds like Blizz Ninja’d 1.1 million from gamers…i would open a ticket, but i dont have all day to wait for the GM!
REALLY?, don’t be so naive. I bet you would make a snide remark at somebody for only pulling out a $5 bill and handing it to a homeless person if you saw they had $10 more in their wallet. Why don’t you just appreciate Blizzard for the good they DID do instead of what you feel they should have done. They are a business and need to pay for their expenses just like every other business.
Ninja’d 1.1 million from gamers. Please. You must be a Democratic congressman somewhere.
In response,
I dont think “naive” would describe me, but w/e. So, your telling me blizz did not make an additional 1.1 million off gamers? That was my point. Naive is acting like Blizz gave 2.2 million. See the difference or do i have to type s l o w e r for you. Would i make a snide remark about the homeless person, ya i would. I’ve been around to many to know most of them are a drain on tax payers resources. But if YOU live in a perfect world and only know the homeless from an ABC special i guess i would feel bad for them. Who’s naive now? Thx for playing bud…PWND
Wow you’re an ass.
They did raise 2.2 million dollars but if you weren’t set on being such a douche and actually read the FULL article you’d realize that they gave to the American charity as much as was donated FROM Americans and gave the other 1.1 million to the other countires that donated as well. Which is totally fair to spread the funds around in that way.
[...] special pet, the "Pandaren Monk," to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, for a grand total of $1.1 million. The O.C. Register reports that Blizzard made a few more wishes come true at its HQ during the check-signing event — WoW art [...]